Man sentenced to life in prison for Iraq War vet slaying

A Cook County judge today sentenced a Maywood man to life in prison for the fatal gang related shooting of an innocent bystander who was an Iraq War veteran in Maywood, prosecutors said.

Judge Noreen Love issued the sentence to Cordelrow D. Brown, 25, during a hearing today at the Maywood Courthouse, according to a statement from the Cook County state's attorney’s office.

Brown, a member of the 4 Corner Hustlers Street Gang, was convicted after a bench trial this past May after being charged with murder in the death of Iraq War veteran Mycal Hunter.

Brown was shooting at three rival gang members when a stray bullet struck Hunter in the neck as he sat in a vehicle in a Maywood parking lot, the statement said.

According to prosecutors, during the early hours of Nov. 24, 2007, Brown and three rival gang members became involved in a fight at a night club and were asked to leave. After leaving the club Brown spotted the gang members in a mini-mart parking lot and opened fire on their vehicle, the statement said.

Brown fired his weapon 28 times hitting Hunter and another person. As a result of the shooting injuries Hunter was reduced to a “vegetative state” and died from those injuries in January 2010, the statement said.

Brown is from the 600 block of South 7th Avenue in Maywood, court records show.